Airbnb is mulling a prepaid rewards card

Airbnb A page advertising a new Airbnb "experience card" went live briefly on Airbnb's website, hinting that the company is looking for new ways to get its visitors to spend more money in the local cities and reward them for doing so.

First spotted by Matteo Gamba, the new Airbnb "experience card" appears to be a credit card pre-loaded with $1,000. Airbnb is offering a 10% reward from each purchase as travel credit, and will only charge the user once the trip is over.

For starters, Airbnb advertises the card as free to sign up, with no international exchange fees or a credit check. With the "Experience Card," visitors to a city get a map of exclusive host recommendations.

That doesn't mean you can spend the money anywhere. In its FAQ page (also cached), Airbnb notes that the card cannot be used for car rentals, recurring expenses, online gambling, for cash withdrawals, or at its competitors: hotels.

Airbnb declined to comment when Business Insider reached out.

The news comes on the heels of Airbnb's new partnership with American Express. AMEX users can use their card login info to sign into Airbnb and use rewards points to rent a home on Airbnb. If MasterCard is a partner (and not just a stand-in on a mock-up of a page), then that would signal two deals with major credit card providers.

Airbnb has played around with offering experiences before. In a hidden section of its website, you can find a list of experiences that local residents offer to guests in either Paris or San Francisco. In San Francisco, one local offers two hour urban hikes for $49. In Paris, hosts offer up a trip to the Louvre or a Paris like a Parisian tour.